Here's a meditation to help you get to sleep.
You can also play this if you wake up in the middle of the night when your mind switches on and all those thoughts start buzzing around your head and if you're wide awake at the end of this guidance there's no need to give yourself a hard time.
Sometimes sleep comes easy,
Sometimes not so much.
Simply accept it's going to take a little while longer and play my guidance again,
Beginning again,
Starting afresh.
Now finding a comfortable meditation position,
Lying on your back with your arms by your sides and your feet falling away if that's comfortable.
Taking a deep breath in,
Breathing out and gently closing your eyes.
Begin by tensing your whole body up and you can pull a little facial expression too if you like.
And then release your whole body and take another deep breath in,
Breathing out.
This is a little message to your body that it's time to sleep,
Your day is done and there's nothing left for you to do.
If your mind seems busy or agitated,
Noticing that's where you're starting from and letting go of judging yourself,
Feeling like things should be different to how they are.
It can take a deep breath in,
Breathing out and allowing your body to sink down,
Down,
Down into your bed.
Really letting go of the day you've had and anything you might still be holding on to,
Maybe something you're worried about or something you're reaching for in the future.
And as best you can,
Letting go of trying to get to sleep and trusting that this will naturally happen when your mind and body is ready.
And knowing that all you need to do right now is lie here in your own presence,
Allowing my words to gently guide you to sleep.
Now take another deep breath in all the way down into your toes and then breathing out any busyness left in your body and allowing your body to melt gently into your bed,
Relaxing your whole body a little more.
Becoming aware of the contact points where your body meets the bed and allowing your body to be held,
Feeling safe and warm.
And if any thoughts pop into your head,
Allowing them to come and go,
You don't need to follow them,
Simply let them visit and travel onwards.
And now I'm going to count down from 10 to 1 and with each number I count,
Allowing your body to become a little bit more relaxed.
So,
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Bringing your attention to a sense of your whole body rising and falling as you breathe in and out.
Resting on the sensations of your body breathing while continuing to allow everything else to fall away,
Leaving just you and your body breathing,
Rising and falling.
Now imagining that you're floating on your back in the warm,
Calm,
Clear shallow sea water near a sunny beach.
You can feel the warm sun on your skin,
The sound of gentle waves flapping at the shoreline.
Feeling your body rising and falling in the water as you breathe in and out.
And it takes no effort at all to float,
The sea water holds you on the surface easily,
Rocking you gently to sleep.
Feeling your body rising and falling as the waves rise and fall,
And your body feels light and relaxed,
Resting on the gentle waves.
You don't have a care in the world,
It's just you floating in the shallow warm water.
And gradually,
With each breath,
You drift towards a warm soft sandy beach in even shallower water,
Rising and falling and drifting,
With not a care in the world.
And eventually,
Your body glides onto the sandy beach.
You feel the waves lapping at your body,
Warmed by the sun,
Relaxed and safe.
Now you feel your body becoming heavy,
So heavy,
So heavy.
Slowly sinking into the sand,
Supported,
Grounded and completely relaxed.
Allowing your body to sink even more into the sand,
So that there's a print of your body in the sand that perfectly supports you.
Your body feels heavy,
Relaxed,
Warm and completely at ease.
Now continuing to relax on your warm sunny beach,
As you slowly drift off into a deep deep sleep.
